He said 22 students and their six teachers were evacuated to hospital for medical treatment after being poisoned. The motive behind the incident could not be ascertained but police had launched investigation.

Abdul Malik, a resident of the area, said his son was also among the affected students. He said about 50 students had apparently been poisoned.

Abdul Kabir Haqmal, spokesman for the Ministry of Education (MoE), confirmed the incident and said the students, teachers fell ill after inhaling a kind of odor.